View Full Version : 2009 Thru-Hikers
BostonAndy
03-03-2009, 20:59
I'm planning on NOBO at the End of july. How many other people are planning on Thru-hiking?
Monkeywrench
03-03-2009, 21:55
A minor point - LT thru-hikers are usually referred to as end-to-enders.
BackTrack1
03-04-2009, 08:13
Im planning on doing the LT again this yr, leaving on the 30th of june NOBO. :banana
I'll be on another LT E-2-E either NOBO at the very end of June or SOBO in mid August.
BackTrack1
03-05-2009, 08:56
Hi Quoddy,
Maybe we'll see you out there again , I met you 2 yrs ago on the LT, i was hiking with Low Impact, do you remeber us? i think it was story spring shelter we stayed at together, not sure though, enclosed cabin overlooking the pond? there was also another couple there with 2 big black dogs.
Yes, I remember you and Low Impact well and I noticed that we may be heading the same direction at the same time if I go NOBO this year. My 2007 journal says that we first met at Sucker Brook... " Also here tonight was Windtalker and Mom, Low Impact, BackTrack, Leo, Black Bear, and Miss Amerika". I think we also were at Skyline Lodge (by the pond) at the same time.
BackTrack1
03-05-2009, 11:01
Good memory Quoddy,
windtalker & mom ended up hiking in to journeys end to meet low impact and i, then drove us to burlington so we could catch our rides home, very cool people.
hopefully we'll see you again, im still working on the planning,parking etc. but plan on leaving lune 30th, im hiking with my daughter this time before she goes off to collage.
RollingStone
03-06-2009, 00:23
We'll be starting ours on May 27th. Hate to start early, but, we only get about 2 perfect months in Montana for good weather hiking at high altitudes. We want to be back for July and August. Have trips planned along CDT, Glacier and Absorokas.
I'm going NOBO from Rutland starting in early August, I hope.
StubbleJumper
03-08-2009, 18:19
I'm planning to go NOBO, but I'm waiting for the sweet spot....I expect to leave mid-August and finish mid-September which will give me cool (but not cold) temperatures, few mosquitoes, and reasonably long days. Also, I might actually be in decent shape by late summer, which would also help!
For fall colours, I will probably take a week in Parc national du Mont-Tremblant in Quebec. I'll stay in the shelters to avoid the frosty October weather!
:banana:banana
I'm planning on going NOBO in either early or mid June, depending upon some commitments I may or may not have, and will hopefully be able to finish and be back home in about a month. I've hiked sections of the LT, with this being my first end to end and long distance hike in general, in both early and later summer and found June to be the most pleasant month for me. This despite the fact that many complain about the mosquitoes, rain and colder weather.
Sleepy the Arab
03-09-2009, 23:17
Hoping to do this in late July/early August when I get the time off work...and they'd better let me. I tend to do things to voice my displeasure when the boss denies me - like quitting the following March.
You guys are killing me with your end-to-end hikes planned this summer! I have to settle for trying to finish it in sections this year :(
RollingStone
03-10-2009, 18:42
You guys are killing me with your end-to-end hikes planned this summer! I have to settle for trying to finish it in sections this year :(
Be thankful. Since moving from New Hampshire in 2007 we had to settle for not hiking it at all ;)
It's fun seeing names on this thread that were in the shelter logs during my '07 E2E hike on the LT.
I've thought about a third E2E, but I think I'm going to try the Cohos trail starting in Canada and - if I can get enough enough time off - work my way over to Maine junction (hiking through the Pemi and meeting up with the AT at Franconia Ridge) and see if I can't get in some miles on the LT.
I'm planning on starting northbound on the 28th of June.
I see that everyone is leaving yearly compared to me. I haven't finished all the details yet, but I was planning on starting at the AT train station in Pawling ny on September 11. Which means that I would arrive in Williamstown about 10 days later. I know that i will encounter chilly weather but I don't expect anything serious, and the leaves will still leaves be around, right?
I see that everyone is leaving yearly compared to me. I haven't finished all the details yet, but I was planning on starting at the AT train station in Pawling ny on September 11. Which means that I would arrive in Williamstown about 10 days later. I know that i will encounter chilly weather but I don't expect anything serious, and the leaves will still leaves be around, right?
The peak for foilage at the south end of the LT (where I live) is about Oct 9th and at the northern end around Sep 28th. You should hit peak somewhere in the middle of your LT hike. You'll have lots of color along most of the trail, particularly after the first week in Vermont.
thanks that is very reassuring, and the clearest answer i have gotten. What do you think the weather will be like in the northern half, at the beginning of October?
What do you think the weather will be like in the northern half, at the beginning of October?
You should expect daytime temperatures close to 50F and night time at around freezing in the "lower" elevations and in the low/mid 20's at higher elevations. Of course it could vary just after the passage of a cold front. You'll see some misty/foggy valley conditions at that time of year, but some beautiful vistas, too.
chrishowe11
04-15-2009, 08:14
im heading out nobo around the begining of August, figure the river will be getting low by then and i can get work off. meeting a friend where the AT jogs east. hope to see you all out there.
warraghiyagey
04-15-2009, 08:17
Where are you leaving from?
Landshark
04-15-2009, 20:22
I am thinking of doing an ALMOST end-to-end from the end of June through the first two weeks of July...I have already done the whole LT in sections but I want to do most of it again! I have a window of time between the end of the school year in June and other plans in late July. I work part time in the summer but I pick the days. The last few years I vaguely considered backpacking in August but other things came up and I never made it out for more than a few days at a time. I need to decide soon and then mark off a few weeks!
Maybe start at Kelly Stand Road and get to wherever I get to. Since I have done it already there's no rush to finish it. I live in Rutland and I have my husband as shuttle service so logistics are pretty easy.
I'll be E2E NOBO starting in mid June and take ~25 days, turn around SOBO and do it in ~15 (wanted to go later, but commitments in August tied me up). This will be my first E2E hike, and am still working on logistics. Any advice for a seasoned backpacker that is good to know heading out on the first thru-hike that I won't find in the books?
vonfrick
05-10-2009, 14:50
warrghy and me are leaving dalton, ma 3rd week in june and walking up the LT :sun this will be my 2nd end to end, but he's only been on the southern, AT section before. hoping to do the cohos next year.
warrghy and me are leaving dalton, ma 3rd week in june and walking up the LT :sun this will be my 2nd end to end, but he's only been on the southern, AT section before. hoping to do the cohos next year.
Ooohhhhhh, the Cohos!!! You'll have to let me know how that one is if you guys do it next year!!! :)
vonfrick
05-10-2009, 14:56
http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-greet022.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org) hey waknoodles!
http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-greet022.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org) hey waknoodles!
Well Hello there!!! :sun
stringbean
05-17-2009, 11:37
i will be starting july 16th heading northbound. this will be my second thru of the long trail. i did it in 2007, my trail name is wandered off. the agency i work for has been very generous and granted me a second leave of absence. can any one tell me when dry season starts? in 2007 i started in early june and water was plentiful.
down-hill
05-17-2009, 14:45
Just keep track of the weather during the month before you leave.
It's not like there's a monsoon season in VT. When I lived up there, every summer was different. When I was heading NOBO from Bromley in late July last year, I had five days in a row of rain, and more later, but surprisingly there were very few mosquitos.
Winter is dry season in Vermont. For central Vermont and the Burlington area it rains - on average - as much (or more) in July and August as it does in June. The trail gets a little drier in July and August though. I think this is because in June the snow melt hasn't entirely dried up and the longer and warmer days of July and August mean the trail dries out more quickly. Still, in my first LT thru-hike in July, there were some very wet days. One day, I kept worrying that I had lost the trail and was following a stream bed, but there would always be a white blaze up ahead. One pattern noticed was frequent thunderstormsom ;ate afternoon in July and August - I'm not sure if that holds up most years.
Plans changed, in my favor! I'll be starting an End-to-End at the beginning of August :)
Glad you are getting enough time to do the whole thing Yukon.
Glad you are getting enough time to do the whole thing Yukon.
That makes two of us! I'm pretty happy that my company was cool enough to let me do it.
RollingStone
05-20-2009, 10:54
One pattern noticed was frequent thunderstormsom ;ate afternoon in July and August - I'm not sure if that holds up most years.
That is a fair and valid statement. The Greens have the ability to change weather pretty quickly. Similar to here where are now. Late afternoon thunderstorms, usually happen over the ridgelines of the rockies while the valley may get little to nothing.
I've been in the greens car camping in the forest near Brandon gap quite abit. I remember one time we left on Sunday morning in mid August. It was 40, raining and crappy. 45 crossing the NH border and looking back.. it was still cloudy and crappy behind yet warm and sunny on the border.
Hi all, newbie here.
I'm heading out on July 7 with a friend and my father to do a NOBO E2E hike. I just finished graduate school, my buddy is quitting his job and going back to school this fall, and my dad's retired. Seems like a perfect opportunity to do something we'll all remember! The plan is to finish up on the 30th.
I've been planning all year, mostly around my gear list. I backpacked heavily in high school, but much has changed in the last decade, particularly with lightweight equipment that I just had to have. Now we're trying to nail down a (flexible) itinerary and some meal plans so that we can get a few good home-cooked meals by postal drop.
Any tips from those in the know for a backpacker that's been out of the game for the last decade or so?
Thanks!
Any tips from those in the know for a backpacker that's been out of the game for the last decade or so?
Start off with reasonable mileages for the first few days until everyone is OK with upping the distances. Most problems will be recognized by the end of that time. Remember that you will only be able to hike as far and fast as the weakest member of the group.
vonfrick
06-13-2009, 10:14
anybody know if there's still a bear hanging around seth warner? he was there 2 years ago.
anybody know if there's still a bear hanging around seth warner? he was there 2 years ago.
There are numerous bears in the area. I've seen them near Seth Warner on the southern section of the LT, just west of Williamstown on Bee Hill, last week on the northern section of the Taconic Crest Trail near the Snow Hole (one ridge west of Seth Warner), not to mention the several that live in the woods behind my house and wander through regularly. I've been at Seth Warner several times in the past year and never saw one right there.
GlobeTrotter
08-14-2009, 05:52
I just finished up some summer hiking in the Alps on the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Alta Via 1, now next on the agenda is the Long Trail. I am currently in the planning phase at the moment and subject to changes, but I am favoring a SOBO starting mid-September and finishing mid-October. I also like cooler fall weather and am of course most intrigued by romantically hiking through the change of seasons and the fall colors.
See you all on the trail!
-GlobeTrotter
I just finished up some summer hiking in the Alps on the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Alta Via 1, now next on the agenda is the Long Trail. I am currently in the planning phase at the moment and subject to changes, but I am favoring a SOBO starting mid-September and finishing mid-October. I also like cooler fall weather and am of course most intrigued by romantically hiking through the change of seasons and the fall colors.
See you all on the trail!
-GlobeTrotter
I will be leaving on Sept. 14 headed sobo.
I sectioned the LT in the 1990s nobo.
ToddSonOfOdin
08-22-2009, 14:29
Starting a SB E2E 8/29. I have 18 days off from work. First experience with thru-hiking, but not hiking in general. Pretty excited!
stringbean
08-23-2009, 12:01
holy crap it was wet out there this summer! still had a blast though. enjoy!